Journal

It's been really lovely to be back in San Francisco. Even though I usually prefer cold weather, I can't deny that I've been enjoying walking to the grocery store without giant snow boots and a furry parka! I've also been reunited with my favorite furry photo backdrop; I was able to snap a few photos of the little shepherdess and sheep sculptures I made while I was in Japan. I kind of love them <3

If you keep up on the Munbeibi Instagram, you may know that I travel back and forth from Sapporo and San Francisco twice a year. It's a very long journey and I'm always sad to leave Sapporo, but it's wonderful to see friends and family when I'm in California. I'll be heading to SF next Monday, so I just fired my last kiln load a few days ago. I'm so happy with the work I was able to make while I was here, and grateful for my amazing teachers. I feel like I've made some progress with form and simplicity in decoration.

Now, on to holiday celebrations with my family, and enjoying the company of bay area friends!

I just unloaded some new work I fired at Sapporo Tougei. I'm really happy with how a few of the pieces turned out - though I could only spend an hour with them as I had to mail many off to San Francisco for the Design Collective Holiday Pop Up at Little Lodge! Even though I won't be there in person, I'm happy to be able to participate.

It's been a lovely and productive autumn in Hokkaido! It's been such long time since I've seen fall colors. I'm looking forward to winter, we're seeing the first few snows of the year now - until it gets too snowy to drive, I'll keep going to Furano and Ebetsu to work on throwing.

It's finally time to go back to San Francisco next week, so I unloaded the last kiln firing today before the Moon Babe departure! I'm really happy I was able to make so much work this spring, and I can't wait to see everyone at West Coast Craft next weekend!

Just unloaded the latest glaze fire from the kiln at Sapporo Tougei! The glaze I'm using here is quite a bit different from my favorites in the US (hey there, Mayco Stroke n Coat ;) so the results were a surprise! I love the way the blush caked on to the faces to almost look like strawberry frosting. Today I'm off to pick up my last bisque fire contents from ST, and then glazing this weekend! Soon I'll be back in SF, prepping for West Coast Craft. It's amazing how quickly the months fly by.

The Cherry Blossoms are blooming like crazy here in Sapporo. It's also insanely windy, so they are blowing around left and right - of course I'm running around collecting handfuls of them for Munbeibi bowls. <3

Loved working with Atelier Sora to create some limited bowls for West Coast Craft! I am so excited now to be working on a new batch of vessels which will be fired at Sapporo Tougei - they specialize in really lovely ceramic supplies, and rent out their kilns to local ceramists. Just finished drying the new pieces, and I'll do the bisque fire this week (happy dance). For now, here are the finished bowls from working on the wheel with Katou Sensei at Atelier Sora.

Back in Hokkaido for the spring - it's freezing and snowy and perfectly marvelous. I am working with Atelier Sora to create some limited edition bowls for West Coast Craft in June, and can't wait to glaze them!

Well, another West Coast Craft fair has come and gone. The Moon Babes had so much fun sharing a booth with our collaborator, Julia Ballenger, and all her bathing ladies. As usual, the love and support from new and returning friends and customers was overwhelmingly lovely. Thank you all so much!

Julia and I were also thrilled to be able to donate a portion of our sales to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood.

There is so much to say about the state of our world and our country right now - and what has been the state of our country for generations. Racism, violence, misogyny, xenophobia, intolerance, denial of climate change; whether these injustices have always been a part of your life, or you are just becoming more aware of them now, in this moment we know there is no more time to waste. We need to stand up for one another and protect each other and our earth. Looking forward, I am turning to a passage from a recent essay by Junot Díaz:

"So what now? Well, first and foremost, we need to feel. We need to connect courageously with the rejection, the fear, the vulnerability that Trump’s victory has inflicted on us, without turning away or numbing ourselves or lapsing into cynicism. We need to bear witness to what we have lost: our safety, our sense of belonging, our vision of our country. We need to mourn all these injuries fully, so that they do not drag us into despair, so repair will be possible.

And while we’re doing the hard, necessary work of mourning, we should avail ourselves of the old formations that have seen us through darkness. We organize. We form solidarities. And, yes: we fight. To be heard. To be safe. To be free.

For those of us who have been in the fight, the prospect of more fighting, after so cruel a setback, will seem impossible. At moments like these, it is easy for even a matatana to feel that she can’t go on. But I believe that, once the shock settles, faith and energy will return. Because let’s be real: we always knew this shit wasn’t going to be easy. Colonial power, patriarchal power, capitalist power must always and everywhere be battled, because they never, ever quit. We have to keep fighting, because otherwise there will be no future—all will be consumed."

A first step we can take is to share our stories and opinions with our representatives in government. From now until March 2017, we are offering to print your letters and mail them directly to our local, state and federal officials. The full list of officials we will mail to is below. Please, make your voice heard, help to protect the rights that all people living in the US and around the world deserve. Munbeibi stands with POC, fellow women, the LGBTQ community, all immigrants, refugees, religions, and our planet.

Hey Moon Babes! I was lucky enough to spend the month of September in Japan and wanted to share some photos from the trip. From Sapporo to Shimabara, the babes and I wandered all over, ate some delicious foods (can you say Soup Curry and Kanzarashiiii), saw beauteous art and met so many amazing people.

I'm back in the Bay just in time to prep for another West Coast Craft on November 12+13, and this time I'm collaborating and sharing a booth with my super-talented friend, Julia Ballenger! I can't wait to get out there and show the new sculptures and bowls I've been working on.

Hello it's me, Hannah, the creative lass behind Mūnbeibī. I wanted to step out from behind the Moon Babes and say hello! Recently, I changed the name of Little Paper Press to Mūnbeibī. It was very exciting and an incredibly nerve wracking decision, one I made because of my love of experimenting with different forms and materials outside of press work, as well as my desire to have a name that I felt represented me more personally. I have been in the print and book design world for over 7 years now, and I love the work I do, but I've also been moonlighting as a creator of 3D objects for a few years. I always thought of the clay work I do as a little silly, too personal and a project just for my own amusement. Compared to the more serious world of print and book design, it didn't seem as important. But... thanks to the love and encouragement from the magical people in my life (old and new) I changed the name and branding of my press to something that really speaks to my funny little heart, and I've combined all the types of design I love under one umbrella, leaving the door for creativity and experimentation, success and failure, wide open. 😱 So, thanks to the old pals who are still here, and hi to our new friends. The Moon Babes and I really ❤️ you a lot, even though we always look depressed in our photos.

We'll be at West Coast Craft again this summer! We were so excited to exhibit as our former brand, Little Paper Press, at the November show, and we can't WAIT to show you what we've been working on with our brand shift to Mūnbeibī Studio! Join us and hundreds of other craftspeople at Fort Mason, June 11th and 12th from 10-6pm.

We just returned from our latest journey to Japan! There may be some serious jet-lag occurring now, but it was worth it (as always). Typically, our Japan ventures consist of camping and road trips across the northern mountains n valleys to visit makers and beautiful places - but this time it was decided that some serious relaxing was in order. We were lucky enough to spend a week in Iriomote-jima, Okinawa (the tropical wonderland of super southern Japan) lounging on the beach, swimming in warm water, dozing, walking and sipping pineapple beers. Of course we had to do something productive, so we brought along a little coven of our Moon Babe Okimonos and had a hilariously good time photographing a lookbook of their island adventure. We'll have the printed lookbook for free at our West Coast Craft booth!